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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Foundation House, Icknield Way, Letchworth Garden City

Contact: Ian Gourlay (01462) 474403 

Items
No. Item

11.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Decision:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Simon Harwood and Gerald Morris.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Simon Harwood and Gerald Morris.

12.

MINUTES - 28 NOVEMBER 2017 pdf icon PDF 250 KB

To take as read and approve as a true record the Minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 28 November 2017.

Decision:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 28 November 2017 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 28 November 2017 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

 

13.

NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS

Members should notify the Chairman of other business which they wish to be discussed by the Committee at the end of the business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

 

The Chairman will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

Decision:

There was no notification of other business.

Minutes:

There was no notification of other business.

14.

CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item.  Members declaring a Declarable Interest which requires they leave the room under Paragraph 7.4 of the Code of Conduct, can speak on the item, but must leave the room before the debate and vote.

 

Decision:

The Chairman advised that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest should be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest should be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

15.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public. At the time of preparing the agenda no requests to speak had been received.

Any public participation received within the agreed time scale will be notified to Members as soon as practicable.

Decision:

There was no public participation.

Minutes:

There was no public participation.

16.

CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE HACKNEY CARRIAGE AND PRIVATE HIRE LICENSING POLICY pdf icon PDF 342 KB

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF HOUSING & PUBLIC PROTECTION

 

To consider proposed amendments to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED: 

 

(1)       That the results of the public consultation be noted, and the proposed policy amendments be supported;

 

(2)       That it be determined that the proposed amendments are minor, in so far as they do not amend the licensing principles or main focus of the existing policy; and

 

(3)       That the Executive Member for Housing and Environmental Health be recommended to approve the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy amendments set out in Appendix C to the report, and the further minor amendments made by the Committee, under Delegated Powers.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:  To ensure that the Council has in place a robust and up to date Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy.

Minutes:

The Licensing Manager presented a report of the Head of Housing and Public Protection summarising the responses to the public consultation regarding the Council’s proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, and requesting the Committee to make a recommendation to the Executive Member for Housing and Environmental Health regarding the Policy.  The following appendices were submitted with the report:

 

Appendix A – Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy published for public consultation;

Appendix B – Schedule of consultation responses; and

Appendix C – Proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy (incorporating the proposed amendments).

 

The Licensing Manager advised that hackney carriages and private hire vehicles had a key role to play in society as they were able to provide safe, secure and comfortable transport whether in the street or from door-to-door. This was particularly important to vulnerable persons who may have mobility issues, physical or mental incapacity, or in areas where there was little or no public transport.  Journeys could vary from airport drop off or collections, to late-night economy related transport, to shopping trips for the elderly, to vital health care trips such as doctors or hospital appointments, to trips to wellbeing/social interaction clubs or work-related journeys.

 

The Licensing Manager stated that users of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles rightly had an expectation that a robust licensing regime existed so that vehicles were safe and drivers were trustworthy persons who would not exploit the opportunity of transporting vulnerable and/or lone passengers.  On the whole, the hackney carriage and private hire provision in North Hertfordshire was of a high standard; higher than average standards were expected from licence holders and, in return, the Council set the fare tariff at a higher than average level.

 

The Licensing Manager explained that the proposed policy amendments sought to build on the successful existing policy, but introduced a number of enhancements to further secure the licensing objectives set out on page 2 of the policy, in particular public safety.  As minor amendments to existing policies fell within the remit of the relevant Executive Member, in this case the Executive Member for Housing and Environmental Health, whilst significant amendments are reserved for Cabinet.  Sections 8.58–8.61 of the report outlined the definition of minor amendments and, at the end of the Committee’s debate, Members would need to consider whether the proposed amendments fell within the definition of minor or significant to determine the appropriate decision-maker.

 

The Licensing Manager commented that he had attached the full consultation version of the policy, including all the proposed options, as Appendix A to the report and the final proposed policy, with the suggested options, as Appendix C to the report.  Despite sending approximately 300 e-mails to existing licence holders, creating a separate consultation page on the Council’s website and promoting the consultation on social media, only 6 responses were received and these had been included as Appendix B to the report.  It would not be unreasonable to interpret this poor response as ambivalence on the part  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

Audio Recording of Meeting MP3 18 MB